Startup to Last

The main theme of our discussion was that it's important to understand the objectives of any meeting. Rick helped Tyler narrow the list of objectives down, and now Tyler needs to (1) consider which objectives are most important to him, (2) consider if some of the objectives are being met in other ways so they can be left out of the meeting, and (3) communicate the objectives to employees prior to...

Here are a few takeaways from this week: Identify what your most important work is, and devote most of your time to that. Rick was spending some of his most productive hours on reading and blogging, neither of which are priorities for his business. If you have things you have to get done (e.g. client work), try to knock that out early in the week so you can focus on your other work without distrac...

Here are some takeaways from this week's episode: Marketing can be broken down into two categories: (1) bringing new people into the top of your funnel and (2) optimizing the conversion rates within your funnel. A lot of technical marketing projects are more about the second than the first. This can be helpful, but there's a ceiling to how effective marketing can be within increasing the top of th...

Acquiring customers will be different for every business, but there are a few themes we discussed that should apply to almost any business: There are two goals when acquiring early customers: 1) Growing your business, and 2) Learning what works and what doesn't. Some growth channels might work for one or the other, but the best approach is to do both at the same time. Identify what type of person...

It's impossible to cover the entirety of this topic in one episode, but there were some key takeaways that should apply to pretty much any startup: A financial model is something that takes inputs (e.g. historic data and assumptions about the future) and gives outputs (e.g. how much money might you make this year). It can be as simple as some notes on a piece of paper, or it can be much more compl...

We considered having this conversation privately, but since almost every business should have a conversation like this, we decided to record it in the hopes that the discussion is helpful for others. As expected, this ended up being a bigger topic than we could cover in a single episode, but we did start narrowing down on some ideas and constraints around the idea of starting up to last: Tradition...

Takeaways from our conversation: Starting a new job is stressful, and one of the main goals should be to make the new employee feel safe. One way to do this is to set expectations are that (a) small enough to be achieved over a short time period and (b) not related to actual job performance at first. In the case of LACRM, expectations will be set around trust. The goal of the first month is for th...

This week, we wanted to take some time to reflect on what happened in 2019 and set goals for 2020. We created a series of questions that Rick and Tyler both had to answer. Here are the answers... What happened in 2019? In our personal lives Rick: Took 7-8 months of to figure out who he is and what his goals are, especially with his new marriage. Tyler: Figured out a sustainable diet In our profess...

Takeaways from our conversation: In the early days, a founder can easily offer great customer service just because they're an expert on the topic and are empowered to solve every problem. Rick doesn't need to worry about this at first. For a low ARPU (average revenue per user) product, it's best to think of support reps as "coaches" so they can be more proactive and replace other functions such as...

In this episode, Tyler gets Rick’s advice on how to think about redesigning the Less Annoying CRM marketing website. Here are some of the takeaways: There are different types of website redesigns, including: AB testing (iterating pages on the site based on performance). Style update (updating the CSS, or look and feel based on a new brand style guide). Restructuring the site (changing the site nav...

In this episode as part of some research for his next book, Rick interviews Tyler about his experience with emotions in the Less Annoying CRM workplace. Here are some of the takeaways: There are frameworks out there for emotional intelligence, self-regulation, but there isn’t much stuff out there about how emotions impact company culture, team performance, and leadership. There aren’t a ton of CEO...

In this episode, Tyler seeks Rick’s advice on how to plan the Less Annoying CRM product roadmap for the upcoming year. Here are some of the takeaways: Product roadmap planning is easier when you are able to align to clear company goals and constraints. In this context: Goals = what you really want to accomplish during a time frame. E.g.: “Increase signups from word of mouth” Constraints = the thin...

In this episode, Rick seeks Tyler’s advice on how to approach consulting on the side to fund LegUp Ventures . Here are some of the takeaways: If you need the money, you’ve got to consult or get a job Ain’t no way around it Consulting can be preferable as you have way more flexibility It's way easier to bootstrap with consulting as your source of money versus a full time job You hourly rate as a co...

In this episode, we discuss how to think about positioning, packaging, and pricing a second product when you have an existing customer base. Here are some of the takeaways: Be clear about the primary reason you want to add a second product. This will impact how you package and price the product.  Is this the right thing for the business and for your customers? Or is this about you and what makes y...

In this episode, we discuss how to identify, invite and recruit beta users for your product. Rick uses one of his ventures as an example, and Tyler helps him work through structuring a beta program for his software-enabled service idea. While we worked through a specific situation, the general concept applies often. Here’s the framework that emerged: Decide if you are ready for a beta program.  He...

This episode ended up being a brainstorming exercise on how Tyler can increase the acceptance rate of his job offers at Less Annoying CRM .  Takeaways include: Survey candidates after they either accept or reject to learn more When someone says no, ask why they're saying no.  That might lead to some really quick problems you could solve. Look at this from two lenses: Controllable rejections - ther...

This episode ended up being a brainstorming exercise on how Rick can set high-confidence MVP requirements for his ventures at LegUp . We identified several approaches to scoping an initial MVP: The productized service approach. This is where you start with a service business and iterate your service into a product with automation tools and software.  The skateboard approach. This is where you star...

This episode ended up being a brainstorming exercise on how Tyler can increase usage of  Less Annoying CRM ’s customer referral program. Tyler may focus in the following areas:  Trying to increase usage of the existing referral program by driving more awareness Trying to capture more information from signups to determine if they were referred Trying to repackage the referral program to make it mor...

In this episode, we discuss how to reset expectations with stakeholders when things change. Rick shares a challenge he is facing at one of his companies. While we worked through a specific situation, the general concept applies often. Here’s the general framework that emerged: Clarify what needs to change and why Frame the problem(s) thoughtfully Identify the stakeholders and where do they stand I...

Here’s what you should know about Rick: Born in Raleigh, NC and grew up in Morganton and Charlotte, NC Went to college at Duke University Majored in Economics and Computer Science Wrestled at Duke Moved to Park City to Ski bum in after graduation Met Tyler at a startup called Zane Benefits (which is now part of PeopleKeep ) in 2007 Became the President of Zane Benefits after a mass layoff in 2008...

In this short bonus episode, we talk a bit about why we started this podcast and what we hope our listeners can get out of it

This episode ended up being much more about how to increase workforce diversity than how to hire interns. Here’s a quick rundown:  Tyler and his team at Less Annoying CRM want to increase diversity They primarily source candidates via their summer internship program Tyler and his team have had great success at WashU with this model However, this has led to a lack of diversity across his 17 employe...

Here’s what you should know about Tyler: Grew up in St. Louis, Missouri Went to college at Washington University in St. Louis (“Wash U.”) Majored in Computer Science Became a web developer through side projects and internships Played guitar in a heavy metal band called Embers Rise ( listen here ) Left his Masters program early to join a startup called Zane Benefits (which is now part of PeopleKeep...

In this episode, we talk about why we started the podcast, who we think our ideal listener is, and how we plan to grow our audience. After going back and forth, the following framework emerged for marketing a podcast Why did we start the podcast? Who is our audience and ideal listener? What problem are we solving for our audience? What makes our podcast unique? How will we measure success? How wil...

In this episode, Tyler helps Rick create a plan to teach himself how to code a web-based application. Rick isn’t sure where to start and asks Tyler for help. Tyler shares best practices he’s learned from teaching more than 15 people how to code from scratch.  After going back and forth, the following framework emerged for teaching yourself how to code a web-based application: Clarify why you want...